328 ON THE TRACK OF THE MAIL-COACH 



messenger. According to my plan, it should be 

 forwarded by a conveyance supplied under contract, 

 and fitted for passenger and parcels traffic — a Bian- 

 coni's car, in short, starting early in the forenoon, 

 being limited in its fares by a published tariff, and 

 conforming to regulations analogous to those which 

 control Metropolitan vehicles. Where a day despatch 

 is not already established, a foot post, at any rate, 

 should follow the first delivery, unless, by local 

 arrangement, a mounted post could be employed at 

 reasonable cost. 



Every village would thus have two posts on week- 

 days, one giving the present accommodation, the 

 other bringing out letters, parcels, and stores ordered 

 by letter overnight or telephone that morning. This 

 alone would be a postal boon of magnitude. In the 

 reverse direction, the mounted mail would take in 

 produce for next day's consumption. Without pas- 

 sengers, such a conveyance as I am thinking of would 

 cost ten pounds per double mile per annum ; with 

 passengers, perhaps five pounds ; and as traffic grew, 

 the cost to the Post-Office would necessarily diminish, 

 because a lower mileage rate would be accepted by 

 the contractor. 



Since the establishment of the parcel post, a great 

 many rural foot deliveries have been turned into 

 mounted deliveries, and every year the number in- 

 creases. Where these exist, a part of the scheme is 

 already provided for, all that is needful being the 

 conversion of a mail-cart into a passenger-car. Where 



